February 26th, 2020 | Written By - Lauren Izanec '22
According to information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the two leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease and cancer. While this may not come as a surprise, it is also true that obesity greatly increases one’s risk of succumbing to one of the aforementioned afflictions. In 2015-2016 American obesity rates were at 39.8%, with CDC studies showing that increasing obesity rates were linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Since 1975, obesity rates have tripled and account for more than 4 million yearly deaths, affecting people not only in America but in almost every country in the world.
Although America is arguably one of the most affected countries in the world, obesity is nonetheless a worldwide epidemic, resulting in the rise of phrasing such as “globesity.” In the past, obesity has been associated with high-income nations but due to the rise of unhealthy, processed foods, obesity has become an issue that is applicable to people from all walks of life. A study by the World Bank has shown that 70% of the world’s overweight/obese individuals live low-income lifestyles. According to Zachary J. Ward, a public health specialist at Harvard, the world has become an “obesogenic environment” and is creating conditions for obesity to skyrocket, as opposed to healthy options to promote global welfare. Even sub-Saharan Africa, which has historically been known for being notoriously malnourished, has seen obesity rates increase, with 44% of black women in Cape Town, South Africa being clinically obese. The rising globesity epidemic is due, in part, to the global increase in processed goods, which are often high calorie, high sugar, and high in fat. Experts in the field, such as Dr. Bleich, a professor of public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and researchers at the University of Sydney, have shown that a change must be made in the accessibility of healthy foods and good healthcare if there’s any hope for the globesity epidemic to decline.
Despite the somewhat grim shadow that obesity has cast on worldwide life expectancy and productivity, there are ways to remedy this situation. These solutions include working towards more affordable and accessible healthcare, taxes on sugary foods to reduce the incentive to purchase unhealthy goods, and embracing urban designs that promote exercise and movement. According to a story from the New York Times, Philadelphia implemented a soda tax on sugary, processed drinks and purchase rates dropped 38%. While soda taxes won’t be enough to truly curb the obesity epidemic, it is definitely a step in the right direction, promoting cleaner living and healthier diets. Although obesity has skyrocketed to the point of being named a global epidemic, measures can be taken to improve healthcare accessibility in low-income communities and promote the health of the general population.
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